How often do you think about “unintentional” sins? Don’t you think that saying “I didn’t mean it” or “It was an accident” is tantamount to saying “It’s not my fault,” or “Don’t blame me,” or “You can’t hold me responsible?” If you didn’t mean to do it or didn’t even know you were doing it, how can you be considered guilty for it or held responsible for it?
Look at Leviticus 4:27:
If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally by doing something against any of the commandments of the LORD in anything which ought not to be done,
Obviously, it is possible to sin unintentionally or the scripture wouldn’t say so. And it wasn’t just the common people who could do so – there are also instructions for the high priest, the whole congregation, politicians, and others. These kinds of sin are defined as being against the commandments of the Lord. Such a sin might have been committed accidentally, or out of ignorance of the commands, or even knowingly when a situation seemed to require it (for instance, when human wisdom could not see a way that was without sin.)
and is guilty,
Unintentional sins result in real guilt before God. We are responsible for such sins, despite what we may often think. By the way, throughout this section the ESV does a great job, by translating along the lines of “when he has realized his guilt”
28 or if his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge,
Generally, I suppose such sins would be revealed after they happened, when the accidental infraction was discovered, or when the commandments of the Lord were communicated.
It is this realization that triggers the sacrifice. The realization does not trigger the guilt – the individual was guilty when the sin was committed. His realization simply makes it possible for him to act on it and obtain forgiveness.
then he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed.
29 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering.
30 Then the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar.
31 He shall remove all its fat, as fat is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma to the LORD. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.
What stands out about this sacrifice is the use of all the blood. After the sinner had identified with the animal by laying hands on it, it was killed. The blood was collected from the slain animal and some of it was sprinkled on the four corners of the large altar. The rest was poured on the ground at the base of the altar. ALL of the blood was used. Part of the animal was burned on the altar, some of it was disposed of by burning, and some of it was given to the priests for their personal use.
And, very significantly, it says in verse 31 that these sacrifices provided forgiveness of sins.
Now think for a minute about how it must have felt to bring this sacrifice. The Old Testament system was very different from the New Testament system. There were so many commandments to keep, and so many possible ways to disobey, that it would be unlikely that most people could keep track of them all. Things could happen through no fault of one’s own that would cause guilt before God. Even some bodily functions caused uncleanness. There were all kinds of potential, unknown, and sometimes unavoidable sins out there. This must have been a paranoid way to live, with guilt lurking in every corner, no way to avoid it, and sometimes even no way to know that sin been committed. It was a life that could have been lived in constant fear and looking over one’s shoulder.
So I think it must have felt pretty good to have those unintentional sins forgiven. But then it’s always good to have sins forgiven, isn’t it?
Now think about what it means:
1 John 1:9 to be very important on the subject of unintentional sins:
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
It says that when the believer confesses his sin (his known sin – unknown sins can’t be confessed by definition), he is cleansed from all unrighteousness. That is huge. It means that believers don’t need to live in fear of sins they committed unknowingly, or that they forgot to confess. It means instead that believers can live in freedom and constant communion with God, with nothing between. It means God will never bring your unknown or forgotten sins to your attention for judgment. It means you are free.
How can this be? And how can it be so different from the Old Testament? The difference is the cross. Look at Hebrews 10:
8 Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them ” (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first [testament] that He may establish the second [testament]. 10 By that will [of God, which was the cross of Christ] we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
Here’s the truth: in Jesus believers have complete forgiveness of sins, both intentional and unintentional, both deliberate and accidental, and even incidental. That is the kind of forgiveness that Jesus provides to all who will believe. It’s called freedom.
It would be foolish and disobedient to imagine that this forgiveness gives us reason to sin, or reason to remain ignorant of how to please God. He has given us the scriptures so that we can understand His will, and we are commanded to do so. Believers must seek to live holy lives, and that means understanding what holy lives are, and that is based on the scriptures.
Also, the existence of unknown sins makes it impossible for any of us to cast the first stone. The most righteous appearing of us may be the most guilty, and not know it. This is why we say the ground is level at the foot of the cross, and it is good for us never to forget it.
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Authors
Irv Cobb
